Palestinian population in W. Bank, Gaza, about 4.5 million

Percentage of Palestinian population under the age of 14 constituted 40% of the total population.

Palestinian mother and child370.
(photo credit:REUTERS)

The Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip is now estimated at
approximately 4 million, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of
Statistics.

On the eve of International Population Day, the bureau
published a statistical review that showed that the “total population of
Palestine at mid- 2013 was about 4.42 million; 2.24 million males and 2.18
million females.” The estimated population of the West Bank was 2.72 million,
while the estimated population of the Gaza Strip totaled 1.7 million, according
to the review.

Data revealed that the Palestinian population is a young
one; the percentage of individuals under the age of 14 constituted 40% of the
total population at mid-2013.

People aged 65 or more constituted 2.9% of
the total population – 3.2% in the West Bank and 2.4% in the Gaza
Strip.

According to the bureau, the crude birth rate in the Palestinian
territories is expected to drop from 32.6 births per 1,000 people in 2013 to
31.9 births in 2015. On the other hand, it expected crude death rate to decline
from 3.8 deaths per 1,000 people in 2013 to 3.6 deaths in 2015.

A survey
found that the total fertility rate in the Palestinian territories had declined
to 4.4 births (2008-2009) compared to 6.0 births in 1997.

The results
showed that nearly a quarter of people in the labor force were unemployed in the
first three months of 2013 at 23.9% – 20.3% in the West Bank and 31.0% in the
Gaza Strip.